The congregation of Israel is likened to a helpless widow, sinking into a profound and endless mourning where the echoes of her past collide with a present reality of destruction and isolation. The sheer intensity of her pain manifests in a continuous cycle of weeping. She cries, pauses only to catch her breath, and immediately resumes her weeping [אלשיך]. The primary approach among commentators views this relentless sorrow as a mourning for the two Temples that were destroyed. Others see it as a lament for the divided kingdoms of Judah and the Ten Tribes, or for the tragic legacy of the Golden Calf in the desert and the two calves later erected by Jeroboam, which ultimately led to fracture and ruin [תורה תמימה]. Her grief is so overwhelming that it draws others into her mourning; she weeps and causes God, the ministering angels, the heavens, the earth, and even the nations of the world to weep alongside her [תורה תמימה].
The choice to mourn at night carries deep historical and psychological weight. Historically, the Temple was set ablaze in the evening and continued to burn throughout the night [רש״י, תורה תמימה, צאינה וראינה]. Furthermore, the night serves as a chilling reminder of the Sin of the Spies, which occurred on the night of the Ninth of Av. At that time, God declared that because the Israelites wept for no reason, He would establish a genuine cause for weeping on that very night for generations to come [רש״י, תורה תמימה, אלון בכות]. Psychologically, daytime might offer a lonely widow a brief distraction through conversations with friends, but when night falls and she is left entirely alone, her sorrow intensifies [צאינה וראינה]. The darkness also provides a veil of secrecy, allowing her to hide her tears from strangers out of a deep sense of shame [שטיינזלץ, לחם דמעה, אלשיך]. Yet, the sound of her crying in the silence of the night echoes far and wide, moving all who hear it to share in her pain, with even the stars and constellations weeping with her [רש״י, תורה תמימה, צאינה וראינה].
As she cries without pause, her tears flow so constantly that she cannot even wipe them away [רש״י, צאינה וראינה, ראשון לציון]. The salty tears continuously burn her cheeks, leaving permanent marks like physical burns [תורה תמימה, אלשיך]. The focus on her cheek also serves as a poignant reminder of all she has lost: her priests, who were traditionally given the cheek of the sacrifices; her heroes, evoking Samson's victory with the jawbone; her judges, who were violently struck on the cheek; and her captive young men, whose hands were bound behind their backs, leaving their tears to fall upon their cheeks with no way to wipe them [תורה תמימה]. Although the gates of tears are never locked in heaven, her tears remain on her face, bringing no immediate relief or healing [לחם דמעה, אלון בכות].
In her despair, she finds herself entirely without a comforter. She actively refuses consolation from human beings or prophets, recognizing that the devastating blow originated directly from a divine source [לחם דמעה]. However, within this absolute desolation lies a subtle thread of hope. The absence of a comforter is a condition of the present, suggesting that in the future, God Himself will arrive to comfort her [תורה תמימה, חומת אנך].
Her deepest disappointment stems from the betrayal of her lovers and closest friends, who have turned into her enemies. On a political level, these are the allied nations and neighboring states that abandoned her in her moment of defeat [שטיינזלץ, צאינה וראינה, לחם דמעה]. On a religious level, the betrayers are the foreign idols she once worshipped and the false prophets who promised her peace, only to be revealed as a broken reed that led to her downfall [פלגי מים, לחם דמעה, אלשיך]. In the most chilling and celestial dimension, the friends who betrayed her are the ministering angels, Michael and Gabriel. Traditionally tasked with protecting and advocating for Israel, they transformed into literal enemies during the destruction. According to the Midrash, it was these very angels who took up the flaming torches and set the Temple ablaze with their own hands [תורה תמימה, פלגי מים, לחם דמעה, אלשיך].